Tech

Google Brings NFL Stadium Imagery to Google Maps

Google Maps Welcomes Indianapolis Colts Stadium Imagery

Stadium View

Indianapolis Colts Locker Room

Concourse Street Level

Concourse Street Level, Missouri Street

Concourse Street Level

Concourse Terrace Level

VIP Suite

Wish you could sneak into the locker room of your favorite National Football League (NFL) team or see what it's like to run out of the tunnel on game day? Google announced on Friday it's bringing NFL stadium imagery to Google Maps, starting with an inside look at where the Indianapolis Colts play.

By searching for Lucas Oil Stadium — with keywords such as, appropriately, “Lucas Oil Stadium” or “Colts Stadium” — in Google Maps on your web browser or app (iOS or Android), fans are treated to a 360-degree interactive photo tour.

Although Lucas Oil Stadium is the only NFL venue working with Google Maps for now, the company said it will likely roll out stadium imagery with more franchises in the future.

"A few football enthusiasts on the Google Maps team thought it would be neat to publish imagery of NFL stadiums on Google Maps," a Google spokesperson said. "We approached the Colts and worked closely with them to capture this imagery."

The highlighted spots go behind the stadium's three concourses to areas not typically seen by the average Colts fan.

"Google recognized we have one of the most dynamic facilities in the world, and this is a great way to show it," Indianapolis Colts spokesperson Avis Roper told Mashable. "We host a number of events in our building, but some fans have never had a chance to see certain parts of the arena."

For example, users get to peek inside the Colts locker room, which was recently in the limelight when Head Coach Chuck Pagano made a memorable post-game speech in November after a win. (The speech went viral). And it's not often fans get to tour some of the VIP suites.

"I think fans will be most surprised by how big the Colts locker room is — it may be one of the biggest in the NFL," Roper said. "I wish we could have added more photos with the roof and window open, but there are still a lot of pictures fans will love."

The Colts may be the only NFL team with stadium imagery on Google Maps, but the company said it is always looking to grow its image collections.

"While we don’t have any plans to announce at this time, we're always interested in adding new imagery to the map and making it as comprehensive as possible," Google said.

For a deeper look at the Colt's stadium, click here. Since the NFL season is 202 days away, this should help keep you busy in the meantime.

Images via Google/Indianapolis Colts

12 Mysterious Google Maps Sightings

This natural formation in Alberta, Canada is known as the Badlands Guardian and looks strikingly similar to a native American wearing a headdress. If you look close enough, it looks like he's wearing a pair of earphones, but that section is actually a man-made road and oil well.

The Portlaoise Maximum Security Prison in Portlaoise, County Laois in Ireland looks like it's been Photoshopped. Although we're not sure why, an uncited entry on Wikipedia states that an old satellite picture of the facility from 2005 has been edited over a new picture of the area for security reasons.

This mysterious crop circle is located near the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, also known as Area 52. The area is owned by the United States Department of Energy and is a restricted military installation.

We're not entirely sure why this location in Russia has been blurred out, especially since it's in the Siberian tundra. The closest city is Egvekinot, Russia, which is a neighbor to Alaska across the Bering Strait.

Aside from the city of Pyongyang, much of North Korea is not visible on Google Maps. Zooming in to North Korea -- a nation known for its Internet censorship -- will most likely get you an up-close look at rocky terrain.

This street capture in Glendora, Calif. has a peculiar message over one part of the area when you zoom in a bit too much. Some theorists on the Internet believe a UFO was edited out here, according to GoogleSightseeing.com. To see what we mean, click on the link above and zoom in.

This structure looks like a UFO landed on top of the Inkpot building in the Netherlands, but it's actually supposed to look that way. The UFO statue was added as a part of a previously held exhibition and was never removed.

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